Redland City Mayor Karen Williams has said she will not resign after she admitted to crashing her car after "several glasses of wine" on Thursday night.
Ms Williams's car veered off the road and struck a tree in Cleveland, east of Brisbane, about 9pm, hours after the Redlands budget had officially been handed down.
Ms Williams said she was "deeply sorry" for her actions but intended to remain in the role she had held for 10 years.
"One rash decision shouldn't follow another," she said.
"Everyone makes mistakes. I'm genuinely sorry for those actions and I will continue to serve my community and reflect what is necessary for this community to be a better and safer place."
Ms Williams said she couldn't recall how many drinks she'd had.
"I don't actually know how many drinks I had. I had several drinks over a number of hours," she said.
Ms Williams has recently played a prominent role in calls for tougher youth justice laws in Queensland.
Ms Williams was the principal petitioner for an online petition urging a longer sentence for an 18-year-old man convicted of manslaughter over the 2021 deaths of Matthew Field and Kate Leadbetter.
The then-17-year-old was under the influence of drugs and alcohol when he struck Mr Field and Ms Leadbetter with a speeding, stolen four-wheel-drive in Alexandra Hills.
The teen was handed a 10-year sentence, but the judge ordered that he be released from custody after six years.
Ms Williams has been a vocal part of the campaign launched by the Leadbetter and Field families, along with State Opposition Leader David Crisafulli.
Mr Crisafulli only made general comments when asked about the situation but said "drink driving isn't on".
"It doesn't matter who you are, or what your circumstances are, you should never get behind the wheel after you've been drinking," he said.
Ms Williams said she had spoken to the Leadbetter and Field families.
"I will continue to offer any support that they may require and [ensure] that the Youth Justice Act is amended so that criminals cannot re-offend," she said.
"Everyone makes mistakes — I intend to learn by mine.
"I also intend to make sure that there is a message for those who are repeat offenders."
No charges have been brought regarding the incident.
MP calling for an investigation
State MP for Capalaba Don Brown said he was "completely shocked and dismayed" when he heard the news.
He said Ms Williams was "a complete hypocrite".
"I just couldn't believe that someone of her stature and what she's been campaigning on has done the exact thing she's been campaigning against," he said.
Mr Brown represents the community where Mr Field and Ms Leadbetter died last year and said he had spoken to the families on Saturday.
He said the families were "angry" about Ms Williams's actions.
He said there is only one course of action for Ms Williams.
"Resign — you can't lead this city and then endanger the people you represent," he said.
"She doesn't even know how many drinks she had, and then consciously got into a car and drove it.
"That is that is in my opinion, time to resign."
Mr Brown called for an investigation into the circumstances that led to the incident and urged other Redland councillors to speak publicly.
"They've got to call behaviour. If you're silent on this, and you think that it's going to go away, it isn't," he said.
"There's a lot of questions."
Redlands councillor Wendy Boglary has since condemned the mayor's actions and defended the culture of the council.
"I don't think there is a drinking culture in the council, however there may be some individual councillors who have a drinking culture," she said.
"What has occurred with Mayor Karen Williams was her own individual choice to drink and drive her car.
"I don't need to go into the details concerning the risk of potential devastating outcomes that could have come from such reckless choices."
